Agricultural implements such as cotton harvesters and the like include a series of different mechanisms which are driven by an engine and remotely controlled from an operator station on the harvester. A conventional cotton harvester includes a series of harvesting units which are connected in a side-by-side relation to each other at a forward end of a frame of the cotton harvester.
In a preferred form, each harvesting unit includes a harvesting mechanism typically comprised of a pair of circularly driven picker rotor assemblies. Each rotor assembly includes a plurality of radially extending picker spindles which remove the cotton from the plants as the harvester is driven across the field.
As preventive maintenance and to reduce costly down time, the harvesting mechanism of each harvesting unit is regularly serviced and inspected. There are times when it is beneficial to run the picker rotor assemblies slowly during servicing and/or inspection of the harvesting unit. To inhibit exposure of a user of a self-propelled cotton harvester to the circularly driven picker rotor assemblies, an operator presence system, including a seat switch, is sometimes utilized. In such a system, power to the harvesting unit is normally interrupted upon the operator leaving the seat at the operator station.
Some operator presence systems actually stop the engine when the operator moves from a presselected position. Other known systems provide a short delay after the operator leaves the operator station before power to the harvesting unit is interrupted or terminated.
During a harvesting operation, the harvesting units are located forwardly and below the operator station of the cotton harvester. Accordingly, the operator oftentimes raises off the seat to observe the performance of the harvesting units. The absence of the operator from the seat usually results in unwanted and annoying stoppage of the harvester. Stoppage of the harvester is not only annoying, but is oftentimes unexpected adding to the operator's frustration. Reliability of an operator presence system is also of concern in various operating conditions.